Day 121

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Well hi everybody, it's been quite a while since I have written anything we have been very busy. I suppose we have to choose what we want to see and what interests us or we would be here for so long.
As you all know Glen is very interested in Genealogy and has done years of research into all our family's trees, and as you all know that if an Australian finds a convict in their family tree well then your royalty. Well Glens, Jane Langley 7th great grandmother came out on the first fleet for allegedly stealing two crowns from a gentlemans pocket. We had the transcript from the Old Bailey and address where she was born, work and lived.She was born in Mayfair as her parents work for Lord Sackville. She was a Tamboura sewer of fine lace in Saville road and lived later in her twenties in Holbourne, it was great to see the streets and pubs which would have stood back then, especially the estate of Lord Sackville which still stands.Visiting Hampton Court was a very lovely day out the gardens were magnificent as well as the palace we spent the whole day wandering around.Also visiting the museums and Gallery's, you could be their for days and days, how lucky people are to have such wonderful knowledge and research and visual places near to them. Glen's favourite was the National History museum, were mine was the national art gallery, but between all the art and history we enjoyed everything.On leaving London we have rented a car as everyone knows you just cannot see the UK on a bus or train well yes you can but its just not the same how do you see all the small villages and beautiful country side and get lost and find the most remarkable places.Glen has a fantastic navigator, me!, we have already had a couple of domestics ? Traveling to Dorset to see where some more ancestors came from, and a county I have never visited very pretty places thatched roofs on the cottages pretty little villages. these ancestors were peasants and so the story went the local vicar help over 150 peasant emigrate to Australia has the living conditions were so bad for these people. I have take so much enjoyment in the accents, and poor Glen face! I have to laugh as he try's and deciphers what they are saying.We traveled to Cornwall and found a great place to stay in Lostwithsul, a small village we liked the look of the pub. It was run by a couple of guys who were together, humm, the rooms of this pub were absolutely beautiful, one ran the bar and the other the kitchen we had so much fun lovely people and the locals too made us feel so welcome. We stayed for a few days and made day trips around Cornwall such as Penzance, St Ives, Lizard. Mousehole, Mousehole was as its name describes it like a mousehole, with winding streets with chocolate box painted houses very pretty and quite beautiful. Coastal villages and beautiful ocean cliffs you can imagine the pirates and smugglers along the coasts. Glen bought 2 Cornish Pasties which were the size of Cornwall he told me the the lady in the shop in her Cornish accent said to him "hold on to your Pastie loviee as the seagulls are pinching them. They were delicious but we did't eat the rest of the day.Traveling to Glastonbury to climb the Tor an ancient hill where pilgrims traveled too, no festival on though, so we pushed on to Wales I wanted to visit the place we went as children small coastal town of Tenby we had such wonderful family holidays as children but I was very apprehensive as you don't know how much it will have changed and developed. Well no need to have panicked just as I left it I could't believe it wonderful Easter we spent drinking and eating and some magnificent walks along coastal cliffs and beaches.Glen really does believe me that the sun does really get hot and their are the most beautiful beaches however the sea has not to be entered as you will freeze well at least not at Easter time. One morning we walked along the cliffs from Tenby to Manabeer and stopped for a ale sat in the beer garden we started chatting to a northern boy who was with his family. Such a lovely young family kids mucking up, they were on holiday camping not not money but happy his accent warmed me felt very familiar. He told us well tomorrow it going to be a scorcher well we laughed we had tears in are eyes. We apologised and explained were we lived in Australia and he didn't think we were so strange,but sure enough the next day was scorching hot we took are jumpers off hehehe. Very special for me to have stayed in such a wonderful special place full of childhood memories.Heading North through Snowdonia we got the opportunity to climb Mount Snowdon which is the tallest mountain in Wales, wonderful day and the perfect vista it took us 6 hours up and down so we did it well, slept like a log after a few ciders.The last week we have spent around the North of England the most wonderful part of England in my opinion,from the industries to the most beautiful countryside and family.I must admit I really didn't want to come here to many memories all wonderful but all to confronting. Visiting my old family home wasn't good, very sad, and the grave of my parents I really didn't think I was going to cope. Then I visited my Auntie Winnie aged 88 I must admit I was not close to this aunt as a child but as she opened her door my heart lifted, we called on her every day and chatted and spent such wonderful days with her. Her memory was great and she loved our family research and was open to what we have found out about our skeletons. We found her grandmother my great grandmother in church yard. Winnie took us to the place she remember and we dug and found the stone which we revealed Betsy's grave that had been hidden for 65 years. I couldn't resist in bending down and quietly asking Betsy who was Mathews Daddy but she declined my question.She told us a story about my mother her sister as children. My mother had told her that she needed to go wash the grave stone and tidy around it of Betsy their grandmother.Winnie had said that she didn't want too as everyone would see her and she would be embarrasses carrying a bucket and scrubbing brush, my mother insisted and off she went. When she arrived at the church she found the grave but it was the wrong name as it was Holden instead of Valentine so she came home. She told her mother and said the name of the grave and was told to hush no explanation ever followed. She had never seen her fathers birth certificate but knew that she didn't have a grandad so it was no shock when we showed her her fathers birth certificate and no fathers name was mentioned. The secrets of family's how they hold them close.Traveling though beautiful countryside of the North and the Lake District I cannot help think that it so beautiful I know I am biased, but it is the most beautiful country side in England in my opinion.The weather has been exceptional but I fear that we are going to hit the cold once we cross the border into Scotland.

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